i walked

this week i went with my school to Jeju island, South Korea.  it's a beautiful fairly unknown vacation spot rich in culture, tradition, and South Korea's largest mountain, Halla-san volcano.

every year our school goes on a sort of pilgrimage geared towards enriching our community through serving and helping each other as the Body of Christ as we endure our Walk together...
at least...that's my interpretation of it...you know with language barrier us foreigners don't really get the full picture sometimes.

so this year we went to the island with a new walking adventure every day with a theme to motivate the students and teachers to share and endure together, serving each other through Christ's love and strength.

on the first day, we got to Jeju around noon and didn't waste any time after lunch.  we walked on a road that led through forests and countryside for about four hours.  the road we took monday, wednesday and thursday is called Olle road that has about twenty different paths around the island leading you through different courses and types of ground.  i'm not sure which one we took on monday, but the country side was beautiful.

we knew it would rain but we were not sure which days and how much exactly.  of course, the day it rained the most and was cold was Tuesday, the day we climbed Halla-san.  its a 4 hour hike to the top and back down.  by the time we got to the top, they actually had the summit closed due to the heavy rain.  i was so sad because this mountain has a beautiful park with a lake on top that i really wanted to see.  but it was so cold and rainy at that point we didn't even care.  so we climbed back down...for four more hours through the rain and cold.  i'm not going to lie, it was pretty miserable.  but the thing about being a teacher is no matter what you have to be strong or else your students won't be.  you have to be strong for them.  its amazing how much strength God can give when you feel like you absolutely have nothing in you to give. i thought a lot about the purification water brings, and in a way, let it wash me clean of the dirt my heart has harbored for too long.  sometimes when we confess and ask God for change when our hearts are willing, we must first go through a mountain as the rain cleanses us.

wednesday we took Olle road by another mountain, much smaller, but still beautiful.  for about five hours we took this road and the end led to the sea, a beautiful scene indeed.  it rained just enough off and on throughout the day to cool us off from the humidity and there was a nice breeze.

for me thursday was the peak.  we walked Olle roads seven and eight which took us by the ocean and waterfalls, and forests.  of course my pictures don't do justice, but it was so so beautiful.  at one point we were climbing the cliffs on the ocean and could see so far ahead, the islands and mountains.  i'm so proud of my students.  they did so well.  and none of us did it by our strength.  we walked and kept walking.

like shadows and rain and mud, fears, sins, doubts come.
but even when it hurts, we walk.
when there's nothing left, we walk.

the bruises and scars are the evidence of the walk.